REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL # 2016-049 Lockbox Payment Processing Services ADDENDUM No. 1 ISSUE DATE: May 23, 2016 ******************************************************************************************************************* Responding offerors on this project are hereby notified that this Addendum shall be made a part of the above named RFP document. The following items add to, modify, and/or clarify the RFP documents and shall have the full force and effect of the original Documents. This Addendum shall be acknowledged by the offeror in the RFP document. 1
Due Date: Extended The due date has been changed from May 26, 2016 at 2:00 pm to 2:00 pm on Monday, June 6, 2016. Questions and Answers: 1. Who is the County's current lockbox services provider? Answer: The current provider is BB&T. 2. Where are they located? Answer: Charlotte 3. Would the County be open to a lockbox located in another state? Answer: We will consider out of state options. 4. For collateral purposes, could you please provide the average balances associated with the lockbox activity? Answer: Our low amounts would be in the $25,000 range. During peak tax season they can be in excess of $1 Million. 5. Please verify how many lockboxes Union County utilizes today? 6. Can you share volume per box? Answer: See question 4 above and 4 below. 7. Please identify how work is split between boxes Answer: n/a 8. Number of bank accounts each box deposits into 9. As part of your Sample Price/Fee Form can you share volumes for the following items processed for a month: Answer: Multiple Payments Roughly 10 15 % (estimate) of our payment volume includes multiple payments. Check only all payments to lockbox are check only. If asking about volume of payments with no remittance coupon we average about 300 per week during normal operating periods with a significant spike during peak tax season of about 200 250 per day Account Number Keying unsure what this is referring to within the scope of this RFP Cash Payments Received n/a Coupon Only Received no more than 5 per month Return envelope specs on return envelope standard no. 9 Specs on coupons 3.5 x 8.5 2
10. Are there any additional data entry requirements beside account number keying? Answer: No. 11. Can you share the specs of your return envelope? Answer: Standard no. 9 return size envelopes. a. Is it a window envelope? Yes 12. Are address changes on coupon? 13. Do you process address changes or would you like the vendor to process? Answer: We currently process, but we are open to proposals 14. #2 i - Ability to return original documents Please clarify what original documents you would like returned back to Union City? Answer: Any non-payment correspondence from customers 15. What is timeline around return of original documents? Answer: Within three business days. 16. Please clarify Custom Report Monthly under Reporting on the sample Price/Fee form. Answer: Standard programming cost, if any, related to any reports that may be determined are needed. 17. Scanning Equipment - The Sample Price/Fee Form has a line item for Scanning Equipment; does Union City require scanning equipment for on-site capture? Any proposal for onsite processing will need to be included as part of the final response. 18. Equipment Maintenance - The Sample Price/Fee Form has a line item for Scanning Maintenance; does this apply to maintenance of scanning equipment in #11 above, Union City requires? 19. Term & Conditions Would the County consider a term longer than 1 year? Answer: Could be negotiable 20. For proprietary information will the County accept a redacted proposals for public viewing upon award? Answer: Yes, along with an original for the County. 21. Do you require weekend processing? Answer: No 22. The bid requests us to provide bonding requirements of lockbox personnel and subcontractors. Typically, bonding is not applicable to a banking/lockbox proposal. How would you like us to answer this question: 3
Answer: If this applies to you please respond. If bonding requirements do not apply, please list Not Applicable and/or N/A. 23. Bonding of personnel please clarify if bonding of vendor direct personnel is required. Answer: See number 22 above. 24. On page 3, under Scope of Work, you have the estimate monthly volumes listed. Are you able to provide an estimate for the daily percentages of payments received? Answer: 50% 25. On page 3, under Scope of Work, the county states it will consider proposals for internal and external processing services. For internal, does the county have an area that could allow for a person to open and scan mail or could an area be set aside for processing? 26. For external, is the county open to the processing being outside North Carolina? 27. Page 9, Appendix A, Question 2, item A, does the county have a specific turnaround time requirement? Answer: Our turnaround processing time is 24 hours. We expect our posting file by 2pm daily. 28. On page 9, Appendix A, Question 2 item C, does the county have a document management system these images could be uploaded to or would the contract need to provide a service for storing the images? Answer: Yes, the County has a document management system. However; it is preferable that a solution be proposed by vendor for off-site storage. 29. If the contract is to provide electronic storage, what is the length of time you would like to electronically store these images prior to deleting? Answer: 3 years 30. What is the county's business line of software? Answer: Utilities is a SQL system (Northstar) Tax is AS400 based with possible changes in the near future.. Is it imaged or data based software? Answer: Databased. 31. How many remit to address does the county currently have? 32. How many banks does the county currently use for deposits? If multiple, can you provide a schedule for where each deposit would go? 33. Can the county provide details to current IT infrastructure? 4
Answer: Provide clarification on information you are seeking. 34. If the county currently has a document management system in place, can you please provide the name and version? Answer: Laserfiche version 9.1.1.548 35. Once checks, remittance and tax payments are received and imaged, how long would county prefer to hold on to the physical copies before destroying? Answer: 3 months 36. For Utility Payments, how many pages or documents could be in each envelope? Answer: Depends on if there are multiple payments in one envelope 37. What is the percentage of Utility payments received where one check is paying for multiple remittance? 0 15% (estimate) 38. What is the percentage of Utility payments received where there is multiple checks paying for one remittance? Answer: Less than 2% (estimate) 39. What is the percentage of Tax payments received where one check is paying for multiple remittance? 0% (estimate) 40. What is the percentage of Tax payments received where there is multiple checks paying for one remittance? Answer: Less than 5% (estimate) 41. What is the unique identifier on the Utility and/or Tax bill that identifiers payment to the resident? i.e. account or customer number? Answer: Account number and/or bill number 42. Does the county have a data base of residents that would include a unique identifier for each resident? Answer: No. 43. Does the county received return mail? If yes, what is the percentage and how should these be handled? Answer: Not available at this time. 44. What are the county's requirements for handling the following exceptions: a. Cash received currently the payment is processed through lockbox b. Check but no remittance process with an exception report c. Remittance but no check mail/image as an exception for county to process d. Post dated check process as an exception for county to mail back to customer e. Incorrect check amount process as an exception for county to process f. Any non-related payment information; i.e. change of address form process as an exception for county to process 5
45. Does the County currently outsource this process? If so, to whom? Answer: Please see the answer question #1. 46. The bid requested a list of up to 5 similar projects (last five years). Each lockbox client has an unique set of aspects during a lockbox setup process and operation. Our references would include 5 companies that currently use our lockbox service. Will these 5 references be sufficient for the similar projects section? Answer: Yes 47. The bid stated that Upon request, offereor must submit three (3) years of financial statements. Would a link to these statements be acceptable? In an attempt to provide an environment friendly proposal, we would prefer to not print the 3 years of financial statements. Answer: Yes ******************************************************************************************************************************** END OF ADDENDUM No. 1 6